It's more democratic and smarter to include Jake Towne in debates

August 03, 2010

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent is mistaken in his refusal to include Jake Towne in debates, but not only because democracy calls for the free exchange of ideas. Dent is clearly trying to make a strategic move. He believes Towne will get less support if he is not seen in debates. But voters likely to support a tea party candidate are fired up by such exclusion. They are likely to see Dent's action as one more thing to be angry, and energized, over.

It is hard to feel any sympathy for Dent's dilemma. Republicans have benefited for at least a decade from the constant harangue of angry media figures on the right. Angry right media have created a kind of panic reaction among a percentage of voters, often hysterical and sometimes outright paranoid. It is likely that this hysteria gives the angry right more power than its numbers represent. Consider the White House's recent panic reaction in firing Shirley Sherrod.

Dent can't have it both ways, fostering voter perception of incumbent dishonesty to energize supporters and using his role as an incumbent to deny access to the system. Representative Dent would be more democratic, and smarter, to welcome Jake Towne to the debates.